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 *Source Water Protection


Waste Collection

Farm management plans should include descriptions of appropriate waste collection and transfer techniques designed to minimize the release of contaminants to the environment. This includes the initial gathering of the waste from the point of origin to a collection point, and subsequent transfer for further treatment or disposal. The waste may require transfer as a solid, liquid, or slurry, depending on the solids concentration of the particular waste. These plans should identify the consistency of the waste, the collection and transportation methods, collection point locations, scheduling of waste collection, labor requirements, required equipment or structural facilities, the costs of installation and management of the system components, and the impact that the collection process has on the characteristics of the waste.

One major source water protection measure that can be done with some dairy and other operations is to eliminate the barnyard. If possible, open barnyards may be replaced with a concrete pad to better collect waste, and a roof to keep precipitation from contacting the manure. This will reduce not only runoff of manure constituents, but also soil erosion. Another important measure is the collection and isolation of calf wastes separate from that of other animals, since calves are a primary source of Cryptosporidium oocysts.